NYPD officers and MTA enforcement agents on Wednesday will surge onto bus routes deemed to be “egregious” hot spots for fare evasion, according to officials from both agencies.
An NYPD spokesperson said top NYPD and MTA officials met on Tuesday to map out areas where bus riders are least likely to pay the fare. The MTA plans to deploy unarmed guards who are part of the agency’s “EAGLE” fare enforcement unit onto those buses, the spokesperson said. Those guards will be directed to look out for riders who skip the fare and escort them off the bus at stops staffed by NYPD officers, who could issue a summons ranging from $50 to $100 and, in some cases, make an arrest.
The push comes a month after MTA officials reported nearly half the city’s bus riders don’t bother to pay to ride, and estimated the problem costs the agency more than $300 million a year in lost fares.
The latest crackdown mirrors one announced by the MTA and NYPD last year, when officials said EAGLE team members would patrol more local bus routes with the assistance of NYPD officers who would be stationed at 20 bus hubs across the city. However, that effort appeared to fail, as the MTA estimated the bus fare evasion rate grew from roughly 35% in 2023 to 47% earlier this year.
NYPD officials told Gothamist the new crackdown would continue until the agencies saw more riders pay their fare, and said the department will reassign police officers to staff the new initiative.
MTA bus drivers are not required to enforce the fare due to concerns about their safety. A pamphlet obtained by Gothamist and distributed to drivers about the new enforcement blitz reminds the workers to “politely state the fare” and “follow the direction of NYPD/EAGLE Team at all times.” It also states to notify the agency’s bus command center if the fare evasion crackdown causes any delays in service.
Last year’s push to address bus fare evasion came as Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the MTA would add 100 people to the agency’s EAGLE team. Just two weeks later, an MTA worker was grazed by a gunshot fired by a man whom EAGLE staffers escorted off a bus in East New York, Brooklyn.
Mayor Eric Adams has championed a renewed focus on enforcing low-level crimes like fare evasion. Fare evasion arrests in the subways spiked roughly 250% between 2022 and 2023. Police also issued 160% more evasion tickets. It’s an effort that’s cost taxpayers $151 million in NYPD overtime, Gothamist previously reported.
NYPD data shows 82% of New Yorkers ticketed and 92% of those arrested for fare evasion last year were not white.